Before I tell you about my day, let me first say that I was not one of the crazy people waiting in lines at 4am, and I did not engage in any herd mentality. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones today because of the stupid, greedy, disrespectful people who have truly lost the True Meaning of Christmas.
That being said, I did shop today, and I was out there at 6am. I live for Black Friday. This day and Christmas Eve are my favorite days to shop. It’s not for the deals…this is what gets me in the spirit of the holidays. I felt I needed a kick start because of the lack of snow this year (no, I don’t miss it, I’m just saying). Anyway, this is how my day went:
5:45 am: Roll my turkey-laden body from my nice, comfortable, warm bed.
6:02 am: Curse that there is frost on my car window. This is California, for crying out loud!
6:05 am: Arrive at Walmart (it’s right across the street…don’t worry, I didn’t speed). Spend about 10 minutes looking for a decent parking place. Settle for one that was in Timbuktu.
6:15 am: Say “Holy Hell” for the first of many times when I see the insanity that is Walmart on Black Friday. Get a coffee at the McDonald’s which is conveniently located in the store. Spend 5 minutes trying to find a cart.
6:25 am-7:10 am: Walk around the kids clothing section looking for the $4 pajamas that were in the ad. They were already gone. Pick up two other pair. Head for the toy department. Find a few of the items I came for. Spend several minutes in a discussion with a perfect stranger (who was possibly the only one in the store, besides myself, who spoke English), with both of us trying to decide if the stuffed animal I was holding was a cat or a dog. Decided it was a dog, and kept looking. Found a cat, but it was the wrong color. Keep looking. Decide to buy wrong colored cat. Witness several pushing/shoving/swearing incidents over items that were either a) not a good gift, b) not a great deal, or c) just plain stupid to be fighting over because I found all of them at Toys R Us for a better price. Find some great movies for The Boy (Spiderman!) for $2. Put them in cart. Try to get to the front of the store. Get halfway there and realize that if I want to get out alive, I’m gong to have to ditch the cart. Go down a random aisle, ditch the cart and the pajamas that I picked up earlier. Head to the cashier. Wait in line for 15 minutes while sweating buckets because they have the heat on…Hello? There are a million people in your store…don’t think we need the heat! Stand in astonishment when the poorly dressed man in front of me (with his 3 SCREAMING children, still in their pajamas) plops down $400 cash on toys, clothes, a microwave, and of course, a gigantic tv. Pay for my $17 worth of stuff, and get the hell outta there.
7:12 am – Breathe fresh air for the first time in an hour.
7:15 am: Lock my stuff in the car and start walking to Toys R Us. Laugh at the guy who thought he was going to get my parking spot.
7:17 am: Walk into Toys R Us. Find no carts. Decide I can use a hand basket. Say “Holy Hell” again because it’s just as bad as Walmart.
7:18 am – 7:40 am: Walk around the store, pick up a few things that were good deals. Get berated by an employee because OTHER PEOPLE (not me, I didn’t use the price scanner, I swear!) left a huge pile of crap by the price scanner and she had to put it away, and she has to work till 1:00 pm and then go work her second job at 3:00 pm. Bite my tongue to keep from saying “Poor baby, having two jobs must be so hard. Perhaps you should give one up so someone might have a chance to feed their family.” Head toward electronics. Find out that they are only allowing one person at a time to enter the electronics department, and there is a HUGE line to get in there. Decide it’s not worth it, ditch my hand basket (sorry mean employee, more for you to put away) and leave.
7:43 am: Back at the car. Drive to Target.
7:58 am: Arrive at Target. Find a parking spot with ease. I’m pleased.
8:00 am: Find that there are no carts. I’m less pleased.
8:01 am: Find a cart. I’m pleased again.
8:02-9:05am: Calmly peruse the aisles. Toy department was a little picked over, and they didn’t have what I went there for, but it wasn’t on sale anyway, so I was cool with it. Rejoice with a lady who got the last Wii Fit. Find some more cheap, but good, movies for the kids. Bought some advent calendars…but wonder why they are not religiously themed. Got a stocking stuffer for The Girl. Found the line that I had to wait in before I was assigned a cash register. Was through that line and paid for myself in under 2 minutes. I am pleased.
9:06 am: Step outside and realize that I am STARVING. Begin quest for breakfast.
9:15 am: Find McDonalds in a Kmart parking lot. Order Sausage McMuffin with no egg, hashbrowns, and a caramel iced coffee. Eat in Kmart parking lot.
9:30 am-10:00 am: Enter Kmart. Find a cart right away, and also find that the store is fairly calm. Spend some time perusing. Found the toys I was looking for at Target. Found pajamas for the kids that were BOGO, and super cute. Looked at what I want to get Brian, but decided to wait on it for now. Go get in line. Not too long of a line, but slow moving. Found a box of candy canes, remembered that I wanted to get some for the kids. Wait some more. Finally pay, and leave.
10:00 am – 10:05 am – debate with myself on whether or not I feel like going to the mall. Decide against it.
10:05 am – 10:35 am: Go to Michael’s. Wander aimlessly for a while. Have minor panic attack because I left my phone in the car. Find a cute craft project for the kids to make for the grandparents and Godparents. Find a great deal on a craft set for The Girl. Pay using my 25% off doorbuster coupon.
10:36 am – 10:50 am: Go to Payless to look for shoes for the kids…yeah…the kids. Am the only shopper in the store. Have brief conversation with only employee in the store. Silently embrace and relish in the silence. Leave without buying anything.
11:00 am – ish – Get home. Find Brian and kids playing a game. Join the game. Fall asleep on the couch while playing the game.
12:00 pm – Wake up to find Brian making lunch for the kids. Eat some leftovers.
Spend the rest of the day hanging out with the kids, cleaning the house (sorta), and finishing the Christmas decorations. The Girl didn’t feel well this evening, so they were pretty calm.
Now the kids are in bed and Brian is at work for another hour or so. I am trying to decide whether I should stay up and wait for him, or hit the hay. I’m really leaning toward the hay…..
Oh, by the way, I’m almost done shopping! 🙂
Two Working Parents 